THE APPLE. 



79 



cost will exceed Qd. per bushel, and then 

 becomes a heavy and serious item if prices 

 are low. Sorting, packing, and storing Apples 

 are preferably performed by the regular work- 

 men, and may therefore be included in the 

 routine expenses. 



If the fruit is sent direct to a wholesale 

 market, most salesmen provide baskets, so 

 that in such cases the grower is relieved of 

 a heavy expense; but for home and retail 

 trade he requires either boxes or baskets of 

 his own. Baskets are expensive, but when 

 well made are very durable, especially the 

 "rounds", such as half- sieves and bushels, 

 which may cost from 18s. to 30s. per dozen, 

 or, where several hundreds are required at a 

 time, lower quotations can be obtained. Boxes 

 are slowly coming into more general use in the 

 British trade, and they can be purchased of 

 several large firms at moderate prices. Some 

 of the railway companies also now provide 

 boxes, but the sizes for holding half a bushel 

 or a bushel of Apples are too slight to stand 

 much travelling and they are too expensive 

 to be given with the fruit. Where boxes are 

 used the best plan is to employ the permanent 

 hands in making them during wet or bad 



weather in the winter. In this 



way, 



if the 



wood is bought in quantity, ready sawn, it 

 is possible to produce useful half-bushel boxes 

 at 6s. to 8s. per dozen that, with ordinary 

 care, will last for several years. Some sales- 

 men estimate that their baskets cost them 2d. 

 each per journey, but this is excessive, and 

 includes the value of those lost. A well-made 

 box properly stamped to ensure its return does 

 not cost half that. In the case of choice dessert 

 Apples, packed in boxes to hold from 1 dozen 

 to 2 dozen, the box can be given with the fruit, 

 for they can be purchased ready-made at Is. 6d. 

 to 2s. per dozen. 



Railway carriage rates for Apples are heavy 

 enough, but they are the lowest charges made 

 for any hardy fruits, and they may be taken 

 approximately at from id. to l^d. per ton 

 per mile for distances above 50 miles and up 

 to 200 miles, the shorter distances paying the 

 higher rates. But less than 6 bushels or 12 

 half-bushels, which, with the boxes or baskets 

 and packing would amount to about 3 cwts., 

 cannot be sent at these rates. For distances 

 of 10 or 12 miles it is often cheaper to send 

 Apples by road, as previously indicated, as it 

 should not cost more than 6d. per ton per mile, 

 provided at least one ton can be sent each 

 journey. 



Market charges are usually so much per 

 basket or box, and rarely exceed Id., while 



2' 6" 



2' 6" 





PATH 



2'. 6" 





PATH 



2'. 6" 





















SECTION. 



• 14 FEE 



^-2'.6"~ 



S H ELVES 



SHELVES 



-2',6-. 



PACKING 

 BENCH 



-2'. 6~ 



SHELVES 



DOUBLE 

 DOORS 



■2 '()- 



GROUND PLAN. 

 Fig. 873.— Section and Ground-plan of Fruit-room at Foxcury. 



salesman's charges may either be a fixed per- 

 centage on the value of what is sold, or, more 

 commonly, a rate of id. per half-bushel and 6d. 



